Marching to Valhalla: A Novel of Custer's Final Days [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio Cassette)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Like a vampire who won't die, Custer rises once again from the grave. In the 1970s, a wave of books and movies, most notably the film "Little Big Man" and the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, seemed to have finally driven a wooden stake through the heart of that particular myth, transforming Custer from legendary hero to monstrous megalomaniac and racist. March to Valhalla hauls Custer back out of the coffin, seemingly as good as new. Written by Michael Blake, author of Dances With Wolves, March to Valhalla comes in the form of a diary that Custer supposedly wrote in the five weeks before his death. In Blake's incarnation, Custer rides again, a fearless, noble, warrior with a flair for romance.

From Publishers Weekly

The author of Dances with Wolves returns to the Old West for a startling novel about this year's most popular literary subject, the inimitable George Armstrong Custer, focus to date of at least four novels and three nonfiction books. Every author has his own Custer, and Blake's is wholly unexpected: not a glory-hungry martinet but a rational man and passionate romantic. Blake's approach is refreshing. He presents Custer by imagining the general's journals, written during the last seven weeks of his life, from May 18, 1876 to the morning of June 25, 1876, date of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. As he pursues the Sioux, Custer reveals his private thoughts about the military, his Indian opponents, his plans for the upcoming battle and his destiny. He also ventures at length into his past, making it clear that, although "I have always aspired to greatness," it was his remarkable battlefield achievements in the Civil War, as well as his ardent love for his wife, Libbie, that proved key to his later military successes and his popularity with the public. He also coolly explains his court martial conviction and his sordid affair with a young Indian woman. Though revisionist in its sympathy for Custer, the narrative seems rigorously authentic in its period detail, down to the flowery nature of Custer's prose. Blake's fascinating tale may not convince readers that its hero was a paragon of humanity, but it likely will persuade many that, for all his faults, Custer was a warrior who died with his boots on. 100,000 first printing; major ad/promo; film rights sold to New Line Cinema with Brad Pitt scheduled to play Custer; simultaneous Random House audio; author tour; foreign rights sold in Japan, Germany and England.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Random House Audio (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679452656
• ISBN-13: 978-0679452652
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,094,943 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It should have been so much better, May 31, 2000

By	Robert Doyle "Robbie D" (Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Marching to Valhalla: A Novel of Custer's Last Days (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) (Hardcover)

Although a fair attempt to get inside the mindset of G.A.C., this book ultimately fails to deliver the thrills or tension it should have. The biggest downer is that this was written by the author of the excellent 'Dances with Wolves'. As a fictional account of Custer's diary, the book is tied by the fact that there is no reference to the Battle of the Little Big Horn and this also leaves the reader with a sense of unfinished business. Rumours are that the screen rights for this book have been bought by Oliver Stone. I would recommend Oliver and any other interested reader to acquire 'A road we do not know'. It's a far more exciting read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A soul-wrenching journey., July 3, 1999

By	"webwords2" (Ojai, California, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marching to Valhalla: A Novel of Custer's Last Days (Hardcover)

_

Don't expect a nice guy who dances with wolves. This one kills with "Wolverines."

Penned by the best-selling author/Academy Award-winning screenwriter of DANCES WITH WOLVES, in Michael Blake's MARCHING TO VALHALLA we again journey West to the savage frontier of post-Civil War days. Only this time our guide's no Indian lover -- he's an Indian fighter. And an immortal legend. George Armstrong Custer.

But as we accompany him on this journey through uncharted territory, we discover -- soul-wrenchingly -- he's as mortal as the rest of us.

It is 1876. On a long march to what Custer hopes will be his most glorious campaign, he decides to record his daily thoughts and observations, as well as the events that led him here, in his Journal. It is through this Journal that we enter the secret catacombs of his "true heart."

The skeletons of fallen Confederate soldiers unearthed by rain. The dark entombment of Custer's dreams during his court martial and suspension from military duty. The taste of blood-lust, more satisfying than the finest wine, when he commands the brigade known as "Wolverines" on the battlefield. And piercing the mists as magically as the rainbow-colored suns he glimpsed during the Washita Campaign, the love Custer shared with his wife, Libbie.

Through Custer's eyes we see the beauty of the prairie flowers, the way light "dances" through the cottonwood leaves. And through his eyes we see the horrors of war. Battlefield carnage. Three mutilated bodies found at a stage station. The senseless burning of a Cheyenne village.

Michael Blake's a master, and his imagery flows like warm, golden honey. His words ambush us and hold us captive. But secretly we hope he'll never let us go.

When Blake sends us riding across the plains to that final destination, Custer's thoughts whisper tragically through our own hearts. And for that brief, flickering moment we know the name of the horse we ride -- Fate.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical fiction, April 4, 1998

By	Bob Joyner "plaidpro1" (Scottsdale, AZ. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marching to Valhalla: A Novel of Custer's Last Days (Hardcover)

Thoroughly enjoyed a story about a memorable American icon that didn't need Little Big Horn in order to have closure. A personal look at a VERY personal character. His love for his wife is almost beyond poetic.